


present in your absence

by swcnsmagic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 15:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10924836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swcnsmagic/pseuds/swcnsmagic
Summary: Alternative 6x15. Emma and Killian can talk through the shells. Fluffy one shot.





	present in your absence

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the lack of uploads recently! I'm working on the next chapter of Work For It, but my exams started yesterday so I might not be able to update until Friday or the weekend. A new chapter is coming, though, I promise!  
> For now, enjoy this short one shot that came to mind a while ago thanks to a friend.

Emma walked down the steps of the house slowly, holding Killian's chest in her arms.

 _He's really gone_ , she thought. _He really left._

She'd waited for him to come home. Every night since he'd left. Henry had bounded down the stairs the next morning to find his mother curled up on the couch, eyes still puffy from the early-morning tears. It'd been a week, and with no word from him, no signs, she'd decided she needed to move on. Though as much as she told herself she would, Emma knew there was no way she could just forget her True Love.

She didn't want to.

And then, something snapped her back to the present, something that sounded _suspiciously_ like Killian calling her name. "Emma?"

 _But it's not him_ , she told herself. _He's gone, he's not coming back._

"Emma? Are you there?" came the voice, _Killian's voice,_ again. From the chest.

Exasperated, intrigued and desperate, Emma sat on the step and frantically opened the chest, rooting around its contents for the source of the noise. "Emma?" came his voice through static, though it sounded far more tinny than she recognised. She found what was emitting the sound; it was a tiny shell attached to a wiry loop.

Sinking back down, Emma's face was a picture of confusion and overwhelming relief. Killian spoke again, saying more than just her name this time. "I didn't mean to leave. I was... I was on my way back to you and... Gideon. He sent me away. I would never leave you."

Where tears of heartbreak and grief had marred her cheeks so often that past week, the ones that threatened to fall this time were ones of relief. Choking back a sob, she let out a shaky sigh and a sniffle. "Killian?"

"Emma, he wanted me out of the way. And I love you. I don't know if you can hear me, but, I'm trying to get home to you. And I won't ever stop until I do."

"I love you, too."

She heard a faint gasp echo from the shell, followed by a trembling exhale. "Emma?"

The tears fell freely now, and Emma had no shame in them. "I can hear you," she sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Emma. I'm so, so sorry," he rambled.

"Killian, listen to me," she choked. "It's okay. I love you."

"I shouldn't have even considered leaving," he said sadly.

"You know I would have done the same thing."

"But I allowed you to think that I'd gone, Emma. I can't forgive myself for letting you think I'd abandoned you after all the times I swore I wouldn't." Emma could hear the emotion clawing at his throat, his words. Hearing such torment in his voice brought more tears to her cheeks.

"It isn't your fault. I love you," she whispered.

A few beats passed before he responded. "I love you too, darling. So much. I promise I'm doing everything I can to get back to you."

A bubble of relief and happiness and just love for this man rose from her chest to her lips where it was released in the form of a breathless laugh. "I'll be waiting."

"It won't be long, my love. Not if I can help it." Killian could feel his heart breaking with each moment he spent away from her.

He'd often heard that the longer a True Love pair were separated, the bigger the toll, both emotionally and physically, was on them. It had been a week, and his eyes burned from lack of sleep and the tears that plagued them when he hoped no one was looking. His chest held the reminders of the sobs that wracked his body all too violently, combined with what he deemed as actual physical heartbreak.

Emma was no different. In a short period of time, she'd grown paler and thinner than usual. The drooping bags beneath her usually-vibrant eyes were a stark reminder of the sleepless nights she'd endured, and her weight loss signified the skipping of meals because she was too full of heartbreak to consider eating. She'd rarely even moved from the couch, staring blankly at the walls, only to shower on occasion and to get a glass of water.

"I miss you," she said sadly.

"I just want to hold you in my arms when I'm back. For hours. I miss you more than anything, my love."

"I don't think I've slept since you left," she admitted.

Killian grimaced at the confession. "Me neither, love. It feels empty without you beside me."

"Your side of the bed is still pristine. It still smells of you."

"Do me a favour, darling?"

"What's that?"

"Find one of my shirts and wear it to bed. Sleep on my side. I'm not there, however much I wish I was, but this is the closest I'll be to you."

"What about you? You don't have anything of mine," she said.

"Whilst not having you next to me has kept me awake, I'll admit it is down to my own thinking too. Thinking that you assumed I'd up and left was eating away at me." He instantly knew that having spoken to Emma would allow him to rest somewhat easier, even though it was only a compromise.

He missed falling asleep and waking with her in his arms. It all felt so natural, his arm slung across her waist, (often bare as a result of events the night before) the weight of her head on his chest. To be parted from her, across fucking realms, of all distances, was a shock to his system.

"I've slept on the couch for the week. I guess I waited for you every night."

Killian once again felt a twinge in his chest. "I hate what I've done to you."

"The only thing I hate about you is your absence, Killian. I don't think I could ever hate you, not really."

The dull ache in both of their chests gradually began to subside, as if this brief interlude had started a healing process of their hearts. Emma had never been such a romantic as Killian often was, but it was easy for her to be influenced by him.

"You should try and sleep, Emma. Promise me you'll try?"

She smiled at his concern. "I will, Killian. Get some rest too, _aye_?"

A laugh came from Killian. "Did you just imitate me, love?"

"Very badly, but yes. Please rest too, though?"

"I will, darling. Go to bed. I love you and I miss you," he ordered.

A warmth not unfamiliar to her whenever he said those words surged through her veins, fuelled by genuine happiness. "I love you too. I'll see you soon."

"Don't doubt it, love. My heart longs for home."

"The heart wants what it wants," she uttered. It felt appropriate.

"And it wants nothing but you." "Go, Killian. Sleep. We both need it," she said, bordering exasperated.

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Killian."

 

The days dragged on as Killian tried any method of returning to Storybrooke, and when he finally did, after a second proposal and breaking a sleeping curse, he made good on his promise and simply held his Emma for hours. There were long, slow kisses, several tears and tight holds on each other, but nothing had ever felt more perfect than that.

It was their happy beginning.


End file.
